The Flies in the Web Are But Shadows
by WindmillQuill
Summary: 'I should have done my research.' Kuroko enrolls into Kirisaki Daiichi, which is also in Tokyo. It's only during the basketball club tryouts that he's realised what a terrible mistake it was, because this team's version of victory is even worse than Teiko's. And he's not going to let things be.
1. Prologue

**A/N: So. I recently discovered KNB, or rather I knew about it a while ago but Kagami's eyebrows deterred me from watching the series I'll admit XD. Hope this fic turns out somewhat decent.**

* * *

Seirin was his original plan, and he should have stuck with it.

Kuroko thinks any self-respecting basketball team that isn't trying to recruit a Miracle will do for him, especially after Akashi's pointed orders, so it's out of pure coincidence when Kirisaki Daiichi lands on his list.

And of course he's never known about the Uncrowned Generals despite having played against them in his second year of middle school, so Kuroko had really no idea of Kirisaki Daiichi's strength as a basketball team.

"Come try your hand at a pitch! You might be great at baseball!"

Orientation went smoothly enough, with him going unnoticed to most of the students. The usual fuss was made over club/society promotion day, where seniors tried their darnedest to get freshmen to consider their clubs. He walked past a couple of booths and saw a table which was labeled "Basketball Club".

There was a tray of registration forms for the basketball club, and Kuroko reached out- only to stop himself.

Did he really want this? Was he sure about returning to basketball? Was there even any purpose it would serve? His hand trembled. Then again, what other club was there for him to join? Shogi was Akashi's territory. There was a bunch of weird clubs such as social media and whatnot that Kuroko couldn't say he had much interest in. There was the literary club, but…

He clasped the trembling fingers of his left hand in his right.

Make a decision.

* * *

Kuroko didn't understand himself, he decided as he felt another freshman overtake him and easily steal the ball from his grasp. He tugged on his wristbands absently; he had gone and told Akashi what would definitely be seen by the other as a challenge, but he'd obviously forgotten just how exclusive and bizarre the nature of his role in the Teikou team had been. There wasn't a chance in hell he was going to be accepted the way his ability assessment was going.

"What the heck, can't you even shoot?" Someone called out, when he had finally run far enough to launch the ball at the hoop, if only to let it bound off the rim.

Likely most of them wouldn't have noticed him if he wasn't trying to grab the ball at every opportunity. Since this was a individual test, there wasn't an opportunity for him to use his ability.

Kuroko knows it, even before the selected few are called out. If they're taking in this few freshmen, their second-years must be strong. Which is also why he breathes deeply into a sigh, letting it settle into his head that_ yes, it's all over now_.

And then, all of the freshmen's heads snap up as the captain enters the gym; it's obvious from the sure pace of his steps across the lacquered court. His gaze sweeps over the freshmen in the gym, and then it stops, and Kuroko's breath catches when he realizes that the captain is looking directly at him, has noticed Kuroko at first glance. So he can feel an ominous shudder through his bones as the senior now quirks an eyebrow in heightened interest and shows teeth.

"Well, if it isn't Teiko's sixth phantom player."


	2. Respect

**A/N: Hey. I think this is the fastest I've ever updated, even though this chapter is really short, I'm sorry. In response to ****xXxAnGeLFLoNnExXx****, I'm glad to see you've come over to the Kurobasu fandom from KHR, and your greeting hasn't changed =)**** Re:SinJaLove****, Yeah I know this series got popular thanks to the yaoi fangirls but that wasn't why I heard of it nor why I discovered it, I was just bored XD As for whether I'm into yaoi, I don't even understand the chemistry behind most of the pairings (Akafuri and Aokaga, I mean please explain I don't get it XD) but if I wanted to write BL I could. I've awkwardly tried to do that for a friend who's a fan of KHR but it turned into some strange genderswap because I can't write a pairing I don't believe in. So I guess I'm not really that into yaoi, although if I had to ship anyone it would be Aomine and Kuroko.**

* * *

"Well, if it isn't Teiko's sixth phantom player."

He inwardly flinched in six different ways when he heard that. He was trying not to lose his cool now, staring at this man who looked familiar yet Kuroko had no recollection of. The man had black hair cut to the length of his chin, strangely-shaped eyebrows and eyes that twinkled with malice. Don't even get Kuroko started on that suspicious smile.

"I'd heard that the Generation Of Miracles split up, but I didn't think you would split too." Kirisaki Daiichi's captain grins.

_How did you know_, is what Kuroko wants to ask, but instead his eyes form a dangerous edge at the mention of Aomine, and stares at the captain. "I'm not one of them."

"Is that so? Doesn't matter even if you were, genius means shit. Well, then welcome to the field of normal people." The other seniors that entered the gym with him visibly bristled.

"Oi, are you saying that you're accepting him onto the team, Hanamiya?! He's one of the worst even among those who didn't make the test!" A senior with spiky brown hair protested.

"Let's play a match, second-stringers against us." Hanamiya declared, setting down the ball he had been holding. "You'll join their team for this game." Kuroko was startled, but didn't show it as he nodded and walked towards the second-stringers who gaped at him in disbelief.

That regular who had protested didn't seem to give up."Oi, Hanamiya-" A guy with long black hair that obscured his eyes from view held him back by the shoulder and shook his head. "Don't. Hanamiya knows what he's doing." He said, but his gaze was slightly doubtful. '_Normal people, really…' _Koutarou thought to himself. _'That's not at all what you think of yourself as.'_

It seemed as though the second-stringers rather dreaded playing against the regulars, from the slight slump in their shoulders as they headed onto the court.

Kuroko thinks about asking them to try passing the ball to him, but decides against it. Even for a practice these guys are tense, and Kuroko would rather just do what he can at the first chance he has.

* * *

It's odd, the way the regulars move when they're blocking the second-stringers from scoring, and one was them was way too rough. "Hey Furuhashi, leave that for the courts!" and Kuroko doesn't even have time to question what that statement meant when one of the second-string players tossed the ball at him in sheer desperation.

Without needing a cue, he smacked the ball into the hands of the player standing under the hoop. He shot it out of pure reflex, even though his face showed that he hadn't yet caught up to_ what the heck _just happened. The other players echoed his dumbstruck expression, except for the captain who had an ugly smirk on his face.

Kuroko didn't say anything, taking advantage of the seniors' surprise to jab the ball out of #7's hands, the player with blank dark eyes that shifted to Kuroko in shock.

* * *

Kuroko was very thankful the practice lasted only one quarter, as he could feel his stamina wane. He could already sense the ache in his arms from playing so vigorously after months of not playing basketball. The regulars won, by a narrow margin of three points, and three of the second-stringers had abrasions and sprains from the bruising maneuvers of the regulars.

"Well, so you guys get it now, right?" Hanamiya said within earshot. "It won't matter so much that Kentaro's so lazy anymore, because he can make the steals too."

The brown-haired senior, who later introduced himself as Hiroshi Yamazaki, begrudgingly nodded. The blonde senior's bubble popped, and 'Kentaro' just shrugged."Our web'll be complete."

With a sickening twist in his stomach, Kuroko realizes how achingly similar this all was to how Akashi got him accepted into Teiko's first string. _'I'll make this clear, if it weren't for this I wouldn't want you on the team.'_ But he reminds himself then, it's not like they actually know each other yet, and the team actually seemed to have good teamwork established, so this was alright. _Maybe,_ he thinks,_ maybe we might become a close team one_ day. Kuroko watches the second-stringers slap each other on the backs in celebration, and for the first time since he stopped playing basketball he allowed himself to hope.

Even if the team was behaving suspiciously violent, like a Haizaki-epidemic had spread over them for a few instances during the match.

"So you're on first-string now, brat." But Kuroko was already out of sight. He didn't like the way the captain's tongue curled around his teeth as he said that, but he stepped up to bow to his new seniors.

"Kuroko Tetsuya. It's nice to meet you." The seniors jumped, they hadn't noticed him stepping away to return the ball to the rack. His gaze was piercing as he looked up at their shocked faces. "I'm not a brat."

* * *

**Well, that's it. Sorry so manny mentions of Akashi but the latest chapters have been nothing but Akashi-angst.(Akashi-kun whyyyy) Thanks for the reviews ;D Not sure if updating this quickly will do any good, but I think you all deserved it for sending me 10 reviews within 24 hours, I nearly swiped the coffee mug off the table when I checked my inbox. Also here's a preview even though I don't do previews.**

Next Chapter:

/"Tetsu-kun, you have to leave with me!" Momoi was uncharacteristically near-hysterics. "This team is no good!"/


	3. Genius

**A/N:Hi again. ****First off, I want to say that I'm very sorry. I've not updated for more than a week, and I will definitely be editing this chapter later. I could only find time to update this because I've decided to sleep 5 hours tonight, haha. I might not be updating much this month, because I'm preparing for nationals. I kinda have to ensure that I'm in the top 200, you see. So, I'm sorry and I hope you'll understand. To SinJaLOVE and xXxAnGeLFLoNnExXx, I'll write a series of Akakuro drabbles and twoshots for you in November ;) I feel like I can do it, anyone would be converted to AkaKuro after reading The Winner Takes It All by readerofasaph. Thanks for all the reviews. I'll definitely finish this by mid-december. All 25 chapters of it. I apologise for any typos in advance, very sleep-deprived. Also, Momoi-feels.**

* * *

It had been three days since then, and Kuroko Tetsuya was finally accepted into the club officially, along with five others.

"I'm sorry." He said as he looked up at the person he bumped into. "Yo, brat."

He bowed. "Good morning, Hanamiya-senpai." He retrieved the soft-cover book the other had dropped onto the floor. '_Observing the Human Motions_', it read.

"I didn't know Hanamiya-senpai was into psychology." Hanamiya-senpai's lip curled back, the way it did when he was getting defensive. "I'm not." he replied, looking disinterested. "It's just something to pass the time. Everything else is boring anyway." Kuroko nodded. "Please tell me when you return that book to school, senpai. I would like to borrow it as well."

Hanamiya shrugged, which was as close to a sign of assent that Kuroko could expect. He'd glanced through the window while passing by the corridor later that day, and caught a glimpse of Hanamiya reading the book under the table. It wasn't a lie then, that Hanamiya-senpai was smart enough to ace tests without studying. Kuroko's results were not that bad in of itself, which is how he got a scholarship at Kirisaki Daiichi, a school with rather high fees. He supposed it was natural, seeing as the school was very obviously intended for children from well-to-do families. Seirin, the school he had originally chosen, didn't have a golf club, after all. Not that golf mattered. But Hanamiya-senpai was obviously genius on a different scale. It always turned out that way, didn't it. That geniuses would eventually tire of the things they were good at. At least Hanamiya-senpai wasn't going around calling others stupid. Which made him okay in Kuroko's book.

Lessons passed by normally, and then it was time for basketball practice. He'd been unexpectedly excited about it, the feeling of playing basketball again.

* * *

Their positions weren't announced yet, even though it was already obvious where Kuroko was going to be placed given Hanamiya-senpai's rather blatant statement the other day, and the senior hadn't arrived yet. There were very unpleased looks cast his way as he stepped up to train alongside the first-stringers. The five other first-years. Well, it was a given, since they were much better players than Kuroko if considered normally.

He'd only gotten to wipe the sweat off his forehead, when he heard a familiar squeal. "Hey, miss, wait!" A distressed student acting as her guide called. "Tetsu-kun!" Arms wrapped around him, crushing him into a soft chest. "Momoi-san." He greeted. "Please, you're crushing me." She loosened her hold, if only by a little. "Who's that?" "I don't know, but I want that junior to die somehow."

"Tetsu-kun, you have to leave with me!" Momoi was uncharacteristically near-hysterics. "This team is no good!"

Immediately murmurs of dissent erupted among the seniors in the gym. "Who're you calling 'no good'?"

"Just come with me for a bit." She dragged him out of the gym before he could even answer her. She let go of his hand when they were two blocks away from the gym, concealed by a hedge behind the slope of the academic building.

"Tetsu-kun," she began, gently. "You do know that every team which has played with Kirisaki Daiichi since last year has suffered an injury, right?"

He blinked. Twice. "No, I'm sorry to say I didn't know that." His eyes searched her face, the skin pinched between her furrowed pink brows. She was genuinely worried for him. Or about the school's team. He couldn't tell which. "The senpai have a tendency to be quite rough during matches, but… what you are implying Momoi-san, could it be.." Her lip scrunched. "Well, the captain of the team, you know him by now, right? Hanamiya Makoto, Year 2 PG, formerly known as one of the 'Uncrowned Generals', and nicknamed 'Bad Boy Hanamiya'." Kuroko nodded. "Yes, Hanamiya-senpai does seem to give off the impression that he is a bad person."

"Tetsu-kun, there is always basis to basketball nicknames. Hanamiya-san is so named because he is always smiling whenever the ace of a team is injured badly in a match. And there is always a casualty."

Kuroko's face grew dark. "I don't know, but if what you're saying is true, then I can't accept that. That is not basketball."

Relief washed over Momoi's worried expression. "I'm glad you understand, Tetsu-kun. Transfer to Toou with me? Our captain Imayoshi-san will accept you onto the team for sure. He values players that practice hard."

Kuroko slipped out of her grasp. "Don't take this badly, Momoi-san. It's not like I don't want to be with you in school, but… Toou's also where Aomine-kun is, is it not?" Momoi looked reluctant to answer, but nodded anyway.

"Then I can't come with you. I'm very sorry." Uh oh, she looked ready to turn on the waterworks. "So, it's truly because of Dai-chan, that you completely vanished before the end of the Middle-cup?" Her eyes were shiny.

"Please don't cry, Momoi-san." _It would be the second time I've made you cry. _He opted for telling the truth. "I won't deny that Aomine-kun is one of the reasons, yes."

"We-" She sniffled, "We started training yesterday, because orientation was a lot earlier for Toou, and Dai-chan was accepted for basketball. But-, but he's already skipping the practices." Kuroko fished out a packet of tissue from his backpocket. "And I'm not sure what I should tell the rest of the team, s-since he's not talking to me either." Oh. _Oh. _"Aomine-kun's being more bull-headed than he should be. You shouldn't have to worry this much about him, he's too irresponsible."

She blew into the tissue. "I know, right? I mean, Dai-chan's such an idiot, if I didn't have to keep an eye on him I would've followed you, Tetsu-kun."

"I'm honored, Momoi-san. But you have better grades, why would you follow me?" He was determined to ignore the elephant in the room. (That Momoi had romantic feelings for him.) "Because, i-it's Tetsu-kun," she said, like that explained everything, "And the others didn't want to talk to me anyway."

Kuroko felt a bit guilty. By all appearances, he'd not been the only one isolated after the Miracles had bloomed, and he'd effectively left Momoi-san alone by leaving the club and staying away even during graduation. "I'm not sure about Midorima-kun and the rest, but Kise-kun and Aomine-kun definitely care for you, Momoi-san." He reassured her. "And I still will." She wailed and latched onto him, turning the shoulder of his uniform damp. "They've just felt what it's like to lose the joy of playing basketball."

"Which is why I've decided. Just hang on, Momoi-san. I will do my best to defeat Aomine-kun, and hopefully the team will understand that there is more to basketball than victory, just as there has always been." He looked to her with conviction, and her tearful eyes brimming with hope just-.

"Really? You promise?" Momoi fished.

"I promise you." She nodded, and retracted her arms from his sides. She clasped her hands behind her back. "If it's Tetsu-kun, somehow I believe you can do it." She waved goodbye to him, and after insisting that he keep in contact she turned homeward. But he knew she was not telling the truth. Maybe she was lying to herself, clinging onto the small wisp of belief he provided. Because Kuroko knew she could see his digits, and he was nowhere near Aomine-kun after months of not having practiced. Not by a long shot.


End file.
